The present invention generally relates to power hand tools and more particularly to a right angle attachment for the same.
Small rotary hand tools that have a generally cylindrical housing or case have been marketed for many years for use in carrying out various woodworking and metal working tasks by hobbyists as well as commercial artisans. Such rotary hand tools generally have a motor unit with a rotary output shaft extending from the nose end and often have a case nose portion that is configured to connect to various accessories or attachments. Some of these rotary hand tools are somewhat larger and more powerful and are known in the building trade as spiral saws that use a side cutting bit to penetrate and to rapidly cut holes for electrical outlets, light fixtures and switches and the like in dry wall. Because these tools are quite powerful even though they are relatively small, they are convenient to use on a jobsite or just about anywhere else where a source of AC power is available.
It is also desirable for some applications that the orientation of a grinding or sawing tool be changed to a right angle relationship relative to the hand tool output shaft. For such usage, a right angle attachment may be convenient for a sawing operation or for working in hard to get at areas. In certain situations, a right angle relationship may provide greater maneuverability that enables the hand tool to be handled and controlled more easily.
Because such power hand tools can be used to perform many tasks, some of which may be in locations where the ambient light is not particularly good, a recent development has involved placement of lights at the nose end of the hand tool which are illuminated by means of an onboard generating system typically in the form of a magnet being located on the output shaft that creates a magnetic field that is induced into an inductive coil or inductor which generates a current that is used to illuminate a light producing device. While many types of light producing devices can be used, the solid-state light emitting diodes (LEDs) are preferred because they are not prone to being easily damaged and do emit sufficient amounts of light to illuminate the work area without consuming any appreciable amount of power. It should be apparent that if the light emitting diodes are in the nose portion of the hand tool, mounting an external attachment to the nose portion of the tool likely covers the light being produced. Also, the attachment extends the structure by a distance that may make the light produced ineffective to illuminate the work area when a tool or blade is installed on the output shaft of the accessory attachment.